Page 72 of Fe
“Riiight. And is there much to do there?”
Fin widened his eyes. “The World of Wedgwood! The website promises hours of delightful fun. And then the Pottery Museum. Ditto.”
“In boots?”
“Absolutely. There’ll be a lot of clay dust.”
“I see.”
“Did I fool you?”
“With which part?”
“The Pottery Museum is shut, but we can go round the World of Wedgwood twice!”
“I’ve a good mind to take you there now.”
“Lyme Regis,” Fen said quickly. “I’ve booked a private fossil hunting tour for tomorrow morning.” He crossed his fingers on his lap.
Ripley took hold of his hand and uncrossed Fen’s fingers. “My God, Fen. I’m speechless. Well, no I’m not. I’m rarely speechless. I couldn’t have chosen better myself. It sounds fantastic. Are you… Are you going to be able to cope with the beach? Am I allowed to ask that? Tell me if I overstep the mark.”
“You’re allowed to talk about my condition and my limitations. It’s okay. I opted for the Charmouth walk rather than Lyme Regis beach because it’s easier underfoot apparently. I won’t be able to use my crutch, but if I struggle, I’ll sit and wait for you to come back, assuming you come back the same way and don’t leave me to be cut off by the tide. I paid for a picnic too. The company provide a shelter to sit in to eat in if the weather doesn’t cooperate. No refunds if it rains.”
“Right. I’ll put together the rest of what I need, then go and get the car.” He leaned over and kissed him. “Thank you. Was it your first choice of where to go?”
“Yes. Well, after Stoke-on-Trent.”
“I suspect it’s a perfectly nice city.”
“Probably. Robbie Williams came from there and he can almost do no wrong in my eyes. Though the captain of the Titanic was also born there. The same can’t be said of him.”
“You’re funny.”
I’m not usually. Not this funny. You’re changing me.
When Ripley pulled up in the car, Fen was waiting on the doorstep. One large bag contained all their things, and Ripley had added a corkscrew and a couple of bottles of wine to the cool bag. He was surprised how much he was looking forward to this trip. Fen had chosen perfectly. He climbed out to put the bags and coats in the boot and Fen slipped into the passenger seat.
“I’ve put Dorchester into the satnav.” Ripley sat beside him. “If we hit bad traffic and it looks like we’ll be late, we’ll shop in Southampton.”
“Fine.” Fen fastened his seatbelt.
When Ripley started up, the radio came back on halfway though I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day and he huffed and switched it off. He kept forgetting to look up how to stop the radio coming on automatically. He didn’t usually mind but endless Christmas hits were irritating.
“Want to listen to my playlist?” Fen asked.
“Is it every Christmas hit under the sun? If so, no.”
“Andrea Bocelli singing Con Te Partirò, followed by Hozier, then The Spice Girls’ greatest hits.”
Ripley shot him a glance and Fen laughed. “Some of that is true.”
“After we get out of London, we can listen. Can you drive?”
“Only an automatic. It was a bit of a waste for me to learn really. But Mum insisted on me having lessons. By the way, Alistair is bringing me some restoration work on Monday. I had a look in the summer house and it’s great. Though I need to evict Incy Wincy and his army.”
“Remind me to put the heating on in there when we get back. It takes a while to warm up.”
“My fingers don’t work so well in cold weather. Would you rather be hot or cold?”
